16 year old Ahed Tamimi will be spending her birthday in an Israeli jail.

NEW DELHI: An Israeli court has denied bail to prominent Palestinian teen activist Ahed Tamimi, ruling to keep the 16 year old and her mother in custody till the end of her trial.

Tamimi was detained last month after a video of her slapping and hitting Israeli soldiers -- an overnight raid on her home in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh -- went viral. Shortly before, Tamimi’s cousin was severely wounded after Israeli forces shot him point-blank in the face with a rubber bullet. Her mother and 20 year old cousin were also arrested.

The teen was indicted on 12 charges, including alleged assault, "incitement" and past instances of stone-throwing. She is charged for insulting Israeli soldiers -- she had allegedly called them "child murderers," "Nazis" and "thieves" during altercations.Her mother was also indicted on an assault charge and "incitement" for uploading the video on social media.

Tamimi’s arrest has sparked a huge wave of support, with many criticising the Israeli justice system for being unfairly geared against Palestinians. Rights groups have pointed out that Palestinians face an almost 100 percent conviction rate in Israeli military courts, Additionally, a Palestinian who files a complaint with the Israeli police only has a 1.9 percent chance that the Israeli perpetrator will be convicted.

Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP) rights group has pointed out that Israel is the only country in the world that prosecutes children in military courts. Tamimi is being charged in a military court.

Tamimi’s next date for trial is January 31, her 17th birthday. Code Pink has started a campaign to collect and send birthday wishes to the young teen in jail, saying, “The latest news about Ahed Tamimi's detention by Israel is horrific. Israel is refusing to release her on bail pending trial. Not only this, but the court proceedings against her will begin on January 31, the day of her 17th birthday. Rather than celebrating with family and friends, eating cake, and having a party, Ahed will spend her birthday in a military courtroom. She will sleep that night in a prison cell.”

Supporters are asked to “sign the birthday card to Ahed and write a personal message of love and support. We will have the card and your messages delivered to Ahed in prison.”

Tamimi has also received widespread support on social media, with the hashtag #FreeAhed trending on Twitter.